Innovation brings creative solutions to problems and accelerates economic growth and business activities. It can lead to an increase in productivity, quality of production, by helping using similar inputs to generate greater output. Rising productivity and quality of products, helps to produce more goods and services which directly play a vital role in economic growth.
Innovation allows companies and businesses to make continuous improvements and enhance the creativity of their business activities. It allows competition in productivity by applying creativity to make businesses valuable in the market. With the vision of achieving sustainable social and economic development so as to meet the present and future needs, Ethiopia gives due focus for the innovation and technology sectors.
In this regard, to promote innovations and technology at home, vocational trainings are expanding throughout the country. In addition, skill competition, innovation competition and local innovational products exhibitions are being organized by Ministry of Skills and Labor. As part of the initiatives during the concluded budget year, the ministry organized three different round skills and innovation competitions and technological products exhibitions.
This week, Ministry of Skills and Labor with Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Technical and Vocational Training Institute, launched the first Summer Camp training for 500 innovators. The program, which is the first of its type in Ethiopia, envisions innovating new technologies, improving production of existing technologies, implementing new innovational ideas in to practice and developing the capacity of innovational products with limited production capacity so as to increase the products available in the market, according to the organizers.
Speaking at the opening session of the program, Minister of Skills and Labor, Muferiat Kamil said that the vision of the summer camp training for local innovators aims at realizing the ideas of innovators with training and to create an experience sharing among the innovators. As to her, this year’s summer camp program is the first of its type and the first batch of the program are 500 startup innovators.
“Innovation is a driver of economic development. To secure economic freedom, innovation is vital in accelerating economic development by doing businesses innovatively. To cultivate the ideas of innovators, to develop skills and to make marketable the innovational products, it is vital to train those individuals with innovational ideas,” Muferiat reiterated. As to her, the training includes a two month professional training by capable instructors, a workshop, an experience sharing by innovators who own big companies and an experience sharing among the innovators themselves.
For Muferiat, those who have similar innovational ideas can come together to realize their ideas by integrating the capacities they have. “The target is to push at least one step for the innovators to realize their ideas through training and there will be a financial support for the best ideas,” she added.
For his part, FDRE Technical and Vocational Training Institute Director General, Biruk Kedir (PhD) said that the program aims at helping innovators to change their ideas in to products by creating suitable environment. In addition to the practical and soft-skill trainings, the program would focus on solving the major bottlenecks in the innovation sector. ‘Within the coming two months, the innovators would get practical and soft-skill trainings so as to improve their innovational ideas and to develop their ideas with workshops,” Biruk added.
Biruk reiterated that the innovators have innovational ideas in agricultural technology, mining, transportation, tourism and in automotive industry. Realizing these innovations, for Biruk, would play its role in solving Ethiopia’s problems in the sectors. By gathering the innovators in to one place, Biruk said, it would help the innovators to learn from each-other. It can give an opportunity for the innovators with similar ideas to work together by merging the ideas and resources they have.
BY DARGIE KAHSAY
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD FRIDAY 18 AUGUST 2023
